ETN Starting Guide - Part 2: Contracts

Once the ESRs have been successfully recruited, it’s time to get their contracts prepared and signed. Employing an ESR requires slightly more paperwork in comparison to other jobs. However, the extra work required isn’t something that should deter any potential employers, after all it’s all part of the project. In this post we will be looking at the contract needed to be put in place to get your ESR started and what shouldn’t be forgotten when employing an ESR.

Work contracts

This should be the easiest part for most involved partners: The work contract. The beneficiaries are required to issue a standard work contract according to the local rules while fulfilling the EU’s criteria (more on that in this blog post).The contract has to be finalised and signed before the ESR officially starts his/her training.

Researcher Declaration

Each supervisor must submit the Researcher Declaration (RD) within 20 days of the ESR’s official start. When working with accelopment, detailed instructions and a guide for the RD will be provided for each supervisor. The RD must be submitted by each Supervisor via the Participant Portal. Special attention is to be given to the employment duration. It must equal 36 months (e.g. 1.7.2017-30.6.2020). Incorrect dates result in a reduced EC payment or a delay in submission of the Periodic Report.

Personal Career Development Plan

Last but not least is the Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP), in which the long-term career objectives as well as training needs that are expected to be developed during the project are defined. The PCDP is jointly set up by the supervisor and the newly recruited ESR. The PCDP is not a static document; typically it will be updated annually based on a mutual agreement between the supervisor and the ESR. As with the Researcher Declaration, accelopment can provide assistance for the PCDP, such as templates and guides on how to submit the PCDP to the European Commission.

ITN and accelopment

What started out back in 2008 during the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) has become a long history of supporting ITNs since, and our success has not halted with the transition to Horizon 2020. Our roles include writing the proposal, advising partners during contract negotiations, supporting in project management and coordinating the dissemination activities. Working as a partner organisation or subcontractor, accelopment’s services during the project implementation are covered by the project funding. All of the roles mentioned above are currently being carried out in four running ITN projects: Train2Target, PEARRL, EXCILIGHT and ClickGene.

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Based in Zurich, accelopment AG is a competent service provider in the public funding sector. accelopment assists universities, companies and other organisations in the acquisition of and participation in publicly funded innovation projects. The company specialises in European research, development and innovation support programmes such as Horizon 2020 and Eurostars. The focus is primarily on projects in the life sciences, information and communication technologies, the environment and energy sectors.